Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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REFRIGERATION SYSTEM WITH PHASE SEPARATION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to vapor compression refrigeration systems used
for refrigeration and/or air conditioning purposes, whether or not employed as
part
of heat pump systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
State of the art refrigeration systems operating on the vapor
compression cycle conventionally feed the evaporator wil:h refrigerant that is
in both
the liquid phase and the vapor phase. In atypical system, the vapor phase
refrigerant
is about 30% of the total mass flow rate. Inasmuch as refrigerant vapor has a
lower
density than liquid refrigerant, a higher speed of the mixture is required
when the
mass flow rate is kept constant if the percentage of the mixture in the vapor
phase is
increased. This leads to a higher pressure drop inside the conduits in the
evaporator
than would be the case for a liquid or a two phase fluid where a lesser
percentage of
the total mass flow rate was in the vapor phase.
As is well known, high pressure drops are highly undesirable in
systems operating on the vapor compression cycle. High pressure drops lead to
heat
exchange inefficiency, the requirement for oversized heat.exchangers with flow
paths
of a larger total cross sectional area to minimize the pressure drop,
increased
compressed energy costs and the like. .e
To solve these difficulties, it has been proposed in, for example,
United States Letters Patent No. 4,341,086 issued July f.7, 1982 to Ishii to
employ
a phase separator located downstream of an expansion device that in turn
receives
compressed refrigerant from the condenser or gas cooler of the system. The
phase
separator provides liquid refrigerant to the evaporator and provides for
bypassing of
the evaporator by the vapor phase. Consequently, the velocity of the
refrigerant
through the vapor is considerably reduced because only liquid phase
refrigerant is
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entering it. In addition, there may be improved distributiem of refrigerant on
the inlet
side of the evaporator leading to increased efficiency of the evaporator.
However, and as is also well known, it is conventional to employ a
lubricant in the refrigerant to provide lubrication of the compressor during
system
operation. In the Ishii system, and those like it, the lubricant is frequently
dissolved
in the liquid refrigerant or of a density much more closely approaching the
density of
the liquid refrigerant than the refrigerant vapor and as a consequence is fed
through
the evaporator with the liquid refrigerant. The lubricant can adversely affect
heat
exchange within the evaporator and thus some of the advantages of phase
separation
taught by Ishii are lost.
United States Letters Patent No. 5,996,37:2 issued December 7, 1999
to Koda et al. discloses the use of an accumulator intended for use in a
refrigeration
system and which provides a means for separating lubricant. However, the use
of the
accumulator at a particular location in a system to achieve maximum efficiency
is not
particularly well described. Moreover, the accumulator itself, with its
provision for
oil separation is unduly complicated and costly.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the
above problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the principal object of the invention to provide a new and
improved refrigeration system. More specifically, it is an object of the
invention to
provide such a system with a means for separating refrigerant into liquid and
vapor
phases before it is flowed to an evaporator along with provision for assuring
that
lubricant contained within the refrigerant is constantly circulated to prevent
lack of
lubrication of the compressor during operation.
An exemplary embodiment of the inventiion achieves the foregoing
objects in a structure including a compressor having an iinlet and an outlet.
A heat
exchanger is provided for receiving compressed, lubricant containing
refrigerant from
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the compressor outlet and cooling the refrigerant. Also included is an
evaporator for
evaporating refrigerant and cooling another fluid and returning the
refrigerant to the
compressor inlet. A phase separator is interposed between the heat exchanger
and
the evaporator for receiving cool refrigerant from the heat exchanger. The
phase
separator includes a chamber having an inlet connected to the heat exchanger,
an
upper vapor outlet adapted to be connected to the compressor inlet for
delivering a
vapor stream thereto and a liquid refrigerant outlet at a first level in a
lower part of
the chamber and connected to the evaporator. The phase separator also includes
a
lubricant outlet at a second level in the lower part of the chamber which is
different
from the first level. A lubricant conduit is connected to th<~ lubricant
outlet and to the
compressor inlet for delivering lubricant separated in the phase separator to
the
compressor to lubricate the same by discharging lubricant into the vapor
stream.
Also included is a bypass conduit connected to the vapor outlet and to the
compressor inlet to deliver the vapor stream to the compressor.
In a highly preferred embodiment, the lubricant conduit terminates in
an cductor located in one of the vapor outlet and the bypass conduit.
In an even more preferred embodiment, the lubricant conduit is a
capillary conduit having one end located in the chamber and serving as the
lubricant
outlet and an opposite end located in the vapor outlet serving as the eductor.
In one embodiment, the lubricant outlet is located below the liquid
refrigerant outlet.
In an even more preferred embodiment of the system, the same
includes a suction line heat exchanger having first and second flow paths in
heat
exchange relation with one another. The first flow path connects the heat
exchanger
and the phase separator and the second flow path connects the bypass conduit
and
the evaporator to the compressor inlet.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following
specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a schematic of a refrigeration system made according to the
invention; and
Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view oi.-" a phase separator made
according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMEI\fTS
A preferred embodiment of a refrigeration system made according to
the invention is illustrated in the drawings and will be described as a system
operating
with conventional refrigerant as, for example, R134a or any of the
commercially and
environmentally acceptable refrigerants sold under the trademark FREON~.
However, it is to be understood that the system can be ennployed
advantageously in
other vapor compression systems using other refrigerants. It may also be used
as part
of a vapor compression system utilizing a transcritical flluid as a
refrigerant as, for
example, carbon dioxide. No limitation to any particular type of refrigerant,
whether
conventional or transcritical, is intended except insofar as expressed in the
appended
claims.
Referring to Fig. 1, the system includes a compressor 10 having an
inlet 12 and an outlet 14. The outlet 14 is connected to a heat exchanger 16.
In a
system using conventional refrigerants, the heat exchanger 16 will be a
condenser
whereas if the system is employing transcritical refrigerants such as carbon
dioxide,
it will serve as a gas cooler. In the usual case, the gas cooler/condenser 16
will cool
the compressed refrigerant received from the compre:>sor outlet 14 by passing
ambient air through the heat exchanger 16 in heat e~;change relation with the
compressed refrigerant. The refrigerant will thus be cooled and/or condensed
and
will exit an outlet 18 of the heat exchanger as a high pressure fluid.
The heat exchanger outlet 18 is connected to one flow path of a
suction line heat exchanger 20 and enters the same at an inlet 22. The suction
line
heat exchanger 20 is optional and is more apt to be used in a transcritical
refrigerant
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system than in one employing conventional refrigerants. However, it may be
employed in both. The high pressure refrigerant exits the suction line heat
exchanger
via an outlet 24, still at high pressure but cooled further within the suction
line heat
exchanger 20. In this regard, refrigerant vapor enters the suction line heat
exchanger
20 at an inlet 26 to exit at an outlet 30. The inlet 26 and outlet 30 are
connected by
a second flow path within the suction line heat exchanger 20 which is in heat
exchange relation with the first flow path that extends between the inlet 22
and the
outlet 24. As illustrated, the flow is counterflow but cross flow or
concurrent flow
may be employed in some instances.
The cooled refrigerant exiting the outlet 24 of the suction line heat
exchanger 20 is then passed to an orifice 32 and discharged into an inlet 34
of a phase
separator 36. The phase separator 36, as will be explained in greater detail
hereinafter, separates the incoming refrigerant into three different
fractions. A first
is a gas or vapor phase which exits at an outlet 38. A second is a liquid
phase which
exits at an outlet 40. The phase sepaa~ator 36 also acts to separate the usual
lubricant
contained in the refrigerant from the liquid phase 40 and direct it to the
outlet 38.
The outlet 38 is connected to a bypass conduit 42 which includes a
conventional expansion valve 44. The liquid phase refrigerant 40 exits the
phase
separator 36 to enter an inlet 46 for one flow path of an evaporator 48. The
evaporator refrigerant flow path includes an outlet 50 which is joined to the
bypass
conduit 42 at a junction 52 and then to the inlet 26 for the suction line heat
exchanger. The evaporator 48 additionally includes a second flow path in heat
exchange relation with the one just described through which a fluid media
passes to
be cooled within the evaporator. In some instances, as in air conditioning
systems,
this fluid media will be ambient air. In other instances, the fluid media
could be a
liquid such as brine or the like.
The purpose of the phase separator 36 is, as mentioned previously, to
separate liquid refrigerant and gaseous refrigerant and bypass the latter
around the
evaporator 48. As is well known, to achieve a desired degree of cooling of the
media
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cooled in the evaporator 48, a given mass flow rate of refrigerant through the
evaporator must occur. For a given mass flow rate of the refrigerant (quality
being
defined by the percentage of the refrigerant in the gaseous or vapor phase
with the
quality of 100 being a flow of gas or vapor with no liquid and a quality of
zero being
a flow of all liquid and no vapor or gas), the higher the quality, the greater
the
velocity of the fluid through the evaporator 48 because o f the difference in
densities
between the vapor or gas on the one hand and the liquid on the other. All
other
things being equal, higher refrigerant velocities in the evaporator 48 mean a
greater
pressure drop across the evaporator 48. As is well known, excessive pressure
drops
in refrigeration systems are to be avoided. Consequently, in order to avoid
high
pressure drops, it is necessary that the passages within the evaporator
interconnecting
the inlet 46 and outlet SO be made larger for higher refrigerant quality
flows. This,
of course, increases the size of the evaporator 48 as well as increases the
cost in
terms of the materials that must be employed therein.
Through the use of the phase separator 36, the vast majority of vapor
and/or gaseous refrigerant bypasses the evaporator with the result being that
the
refrigerant quality passing through the evaporator 48 is lower than would
otherwise
be the case. This in turn reduces pressure drop and allows minimization of the
size
of the evaporator 48.
The quality of refrigerant entering the evaporator from the phase
separator can be closely regulated through the use of the expansion valve 44
which
typically would respond to the temperature of the refrigerant at a desired
point in the
system.
One problem accompanies the use of such a system. As is well
known, the refrigerants employed in systems ofthis sort typically include a
lubricant
for lubricating the compressor 10 during its operation. The lubricant
typically will
travel with the liquid phase refrigerant because of its relatively high
density. In some
instances, the lubricant may have a density greater than that of the liquid
refrigerant
while in others, it may be less than that of the liquid refrigerant.
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When the mass flow of gas through the bypass conduit 42 is high, the
flow of refrigerant exiting the evaporator 48 at the outlet 50 will typically
be
diminished which, in turn, will mean that the content of lubricant in the
stream being
returned to the compressor inlet 12 will be reduced.
Furthermore, it is desirable that a lubricant within the evaporator 48
be avoided entirely because of its poor thermal conductivity which, in turn,
reduces
efficiency of the evaporator 48.
Fig. 2 illustrates one construction of the phase separator 36 that is
designed to both assure a constant stream of lubricant to the compressor inlet
12
while minimizing or eliminating the passage of lubricant 1:o the evaporator
48. While
it is illustrated as one that is useful in systems where the lubricant has a
greater
density than the liquid refrigerant, as explained in greater detail
hereinafter, it is useful
where the converse is true, i.e., the lubricant has a lesser density than that
of the
liquid refrigerant.
The phase separator includes a housing 60 defining a chamber 62.
The chamber 62 may be of any desired configuration so long as the desired
separation
can be achieved therein. The inlet 34 will typically, but not always, be
toward the
upper end of the chamber 62 while the vapor or gas outlet. 38 will be at the
upper end
of the chamber 62 or at least near the upper end of the clhamber 62.
On the other hand, the outlet 40 will be near the lower end of the
chamber.
As illustrated in Fig. 2, a body of separated lubricant 64 has an upper
level at 66. Above the lubricant 64 is a body 68 of liquid refrigerant having
an upper
level 70 which is below the vapor or gas outlet 38. The outlet 40 includes a
standpipe or the like that extends inwardly into the chamber 64 to a point
above the
lubricant level 66 and below the liquid refrigerant level 7~D so as to provide
an outlet
opening 72 within the body 68 of liquid refrigerant for withdrawing the same
from
the phase separator and passing it to the inlet 46 of the evaporator 48.
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_$_
Also included is a capillary tube 74 having an upper end 76 and a
lower end 78. It will be observed that the lower end 78 of the capillary tube
74 is
below the lubricant level 66 and within the body of lubricant 64. Conversely,
the
upper end 76 of the capillary tube 74 extends into the outlet 38.
In operation, refrigerant exiting the orifice 32 will enter the chamber
62 in the direction shown by an arrow 80. Because of the difference in
densities, the
refrigerant will separate into gaseous refrigerant above the level 70 and
liquid
refrigerant below the level 70. In addition, for the situation where the
refrigerant 68
is less dense than the body 64 of lubricant, the lubricating oil will separate
out at the
I 0 level 66. This level is, as mentioned previously, above the lower open end
78 of the
capillary tube 74. Consequently, refrigerant vapor passing through the outlet
38 will
pass by the upper end 76 of the capillary tube 74 and draw lubricant through
the
capillary tube 74 out of the end 76 where it is discharged into the vapor
stream
passing from the outlet 38 ultimately to the junction 52. From there it will
pass with
refrigerant through the suction line heat exchanger 20 anal ultimately to the
inlet 12
of the compressor 10. It wi 11 be immediately appreciated that the upper end
76 of the
capillary tube 74 serves as an eductor for lubricant into the vapor stream as
long as
vapor is passing from the inlet 34 to the outlet 38 and to the compressor
inlet 12.
When such is not occurring, lubricant will not be educted through the end 76
but
during such a situation, the compressor 10 will not be operating.
In some instances, the lubricant may have a lesser density than the
density of the liquid refrigerant. The phase separator of the invention is
useful in that
situation as well. It is only necessary to locate the open upper end 72 at a
lower
position within the chamber 62 than the end 78 of the capillary tube 74 such
that the
latter will be located within the body of lubricant holding on the body of
liquid
refrigerant and the outlet 40 will have the end 72 disposed in the body of
liquid
refrigerant.
It will accordingly be appreciated that the invention provides a system
whereby high pressure losses encountered in the evaporator 48 are limited
through
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the use of the bypass line 42. At the same time, adequate lubrication of the
compressor 10 is achieved as a result of the eduction of lubricant from the
phase
separator 36 into the vapor stream that is being passed to the compressor
inlet 12.
Further, the system avoids or minimizes the passage of lubricant into the
evaporator
48 whereat it would have interfered with the operatiion of the evaporator 48.
Consequently, system efficiency is maximized, both through the elimination of
inordinately high pressure drops within the evaporator ~48 and the avoiding of
the
passing of lubricant to the evaporator 48.
